Thursday
of the Twenty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time
(I Timothy
4:12-16; Luke 7:36-50)
Today’s remarkable
gospel contains various aspects noteworthy of comment. First, Jesus goes to the home of a Pharisee. The Pharisees were not necessarily his
enemies. Many seem to have been his
friends. Second, the woman’s washing of Jesus’
feet with tears and drying them with her hair is highly unusual, even weird
behavior. All that is said of her is that
she was sinful. As often happens, people
completely estranged from God develop exotic behaviors.
Finally,
different manuscripts of this gospel render different sequences of action. The New American Bible translation indicates that
the woman’s display of love came as a result of God’s forgiveness. However, other manuscripts relating the
gospel indicate that God’s forgiveness came as a response to her demonstration
of love.
These
comments should lead us to a greater spiritual maturity. They should tell us to
resist prejudice toward another of different political or religious
beliefs. They should also make us more
tolerant of behaviors that seem odd or different. Finally, yes, we love because we have been
forgiven by God, but let us not doubt that God loves us especially when we act
as His daughters and sons.
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